Monday, June 29, 2026

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COMMENTARY

Bus driver makes ride more enjoyable

I am writing in regard to the bus driver story ("Bus driver brightens students' days" SN 3/30). This article further illustrates that behind each and every one of us there is a great story if only we take the time to learn about one another and our backgrounds.

COMMENTARY

Rice needs to come clean about Sept. 11

While National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice seems perfectly flexible with her time to talk to 60 Minutes and other news cameras to attack her former co-workers and employees, she cannot seem to find the time to talk to the Sept.

MSU

COGS could represent MSU-DCL

MSU-DCL College of Law students might soon receive both a voice and a vote in the Council of Graduate Students, if Provost Lou Anna Simon's proposed reorganization blueprint is approved. As part of Simon's proposal, which includes plans to further align programs between the university, the law school would act as any other college in the university, but would maintain financial independence.

MICHIGAN

City parking department budget expected to come up short; officials suggest creation of task force

After years of budgetary problems, the East Lansing Parking Department is bracing for another budget shortfall at the end of this fiscal year. At an East Lansing City Council work session on March 23, parking administrator Dan O'Connor asked that a special task force be created to find more efficient ways for the city to cut parking costs and increase parking revenue. O'Connor outlined a report of this year's budget as it currently stands and where the department expects to be when the fiscal year ends in June.

NEWS

Spinning spree

The temptation is there. You have a computer with a high-speed Internet connection. You're ever so curious about that Blue Oyster Cult band at whose 1976 concert your father finally admitted he smoked marijuana.

NEWS

Accafellas add twist on a cappella

The Accafellas is anything but a standard choir group. An eight-part male a cappella singing ensemble, the group creates entertainment that pokes fun at anything from boy bands to Budweiser commercials. Striving to create a balance between music and humor, the group gathered in a small practice room on the first floor of the Music Building two nights before an upcoming concert and spent as much time singing as it did cracking jokes.

FOOTBALL

Two try out new spots

To hit or to be hit, that is the competition. Well, at least for two Spartans running backs. Junior Tyrell Dortch and sophomore Jaren Hayes have been moved from taking hits on offense to laying hits on defense in the early stages of spring football.

MSU

Community honors Chavez

Baldemar Velasquez, an ally and friend of Cesar Chavez for 27 years, spoke Wednesday of how he used to pick cherries in Traverse City and dreamt of organizing farm workers to fight for their rights.

MICHIGAN

Lawmakers debate options for 'sin taxes'

As bills aimed at closing the state's budget shortfall by raising "sin taxes" make their way through the state Legislature, supporters for and against the bills are making their opinions heard. In the state House on Tuesday, a number of Republican legislators proposed amendments to the state's budget that would reduce spending, rather than raise taxes on cigarettes and liquor.

NEWS

Officials' views vary on school relocation talks

Although a senator and a hospital official said negotiations about the MSU College of Human Medicine's possible relocation to Grand Rapids haven't included all the deciding parties, other officials involved said the talks have been all-inclusive. The group, made up of local and state leaders, was created earlier this year to keep the medical school's presence in the capital area.

NEWS

'Abducting' just like an adult circus

The MSU Department of Theatre is covering multiple platforms with its rendition of "Abducting Diana." The show, which originally was written in Italian in the '80s, explores themes surrounding media and politics but also uses various comedic approaches to keep it interesting. "(The play's) message about the media and the conglomeration of the media through Time, Time Warner, AOL and Disney, along with the scandals with Enron and the war in Iraq, are pertinent," said Frank Rutledge, director of "Abducting Diana" and an MSU Department of Theatre chair.

NEWS

Upcoming concerts: April

1: Umphrey's McGee, OM Trio and Calliope at The Temple Club, 500 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing 1: Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids 2: Summer Dying, Meatjack, American Heritage, Mezzanine C-14 at Mac's Bar, 2700 E.

COMMENTARY

Gas-mask money

Michigan public schools will become the strongholds of our state against imminent terrorist attacks, thanks to a grant from the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Handicap stickers denote disablities

This letter is in response to Sarah Gilmour's letter about handicap parking on campus ("Handicap parking spots for disabled" SN 3/29). My best friend has a prosthetic leg and a heart condition that she has had since birth.

NEWS

Affirmative action ruling faces appeal

The state Attorney General's office filed an appeal Tuesday in response to an Ingham County Circuit Court ruling that a state board shouldn't have approved petition forms aiming to end racial- and gender-preference practices in Michigan. Attorney General Mike Cox said in a written statement that the appeal is necessary to remain consistent with established Michigan law and to protect the public's petitioning rights. "The lower court's standard for amending the constitution creates too onerous a burden on those who choose to engage in democratic action," he said.

MSU

ASMSU polls have small voter turnout, seats still open

In an election with less than one-third the participation of last year, 21 new ASMSU members were voted into MSU's undergraduate student government last week. Elections were held March 24-25 and about 5 percent of undergraduate students voted.